Fish lure



July 2, 1946 J. H. wooDwARn y Y' 2,403,202 I FISH LURE Filed oct, ze. 1944 INVENTOR. f

Patented July 2, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE; Y Y 2,403,202 FISH Loan v Joseph H. Woodward, Los Angeles, Calif. Application October 26, 1944, SerialnNo. 560,3'8'6.

(Cl. 3f-35.)

7 Claims. l

My invention relates' to lish lures; and has as itsV principal object` the provisionV of an artiiicial bait' member more or lessv simulating the appearance of 'a small fish, inwhich' one'or more hooks are adapted to be substantially concealed within the body of the lure andwill `spring out ofthe lure when it is attacked by a fish.

Another object of' my invention is to provide a fish lure of the character described, in. which the hook member and bait memberi are mounted for longitudinal movement relative` to each other and in which an attacking fish striking thebaitr member will move the bait member forwardly relative to' the hooks to release thehook member from its concealed position.

`Another object of my invention is to provide a ish lure ofthe character described wherein the hook member is'.constructed inthe form of a pair of arms extending longitudinally through the bait member, the arms being resiliently. connected together at the forward'. endof the bait member to urge the arms' laterallyoff` the bait member to set the hook in the mouth of'an' attacking iish.

Another object of` my invention isfto provide a iish lure of the character described wherein the baitv member is4 provided with one or more narrow' laterally'extending flnsto minimize spinningl of the bait niember.

Another object` of my invention is to provide a iish lure of the type describedl in the preceding paragraph wherein the shape of the. forward edges of the ns is such as to merge with the shape of 'the forward Yend ofthevbodyV of the bait to minimize` entanglement of the baitin weeds or under water growth.

Another object of my invention is tov provide a shl lure of the character described wherein the ns'l employed extend'laterally lof thebody of the bait a suflicient distance to constitute an abutment against which the mouth of' an attacking sh will strike to thereby cause a forward movement of the bait relative to the hook. members associated therewith.

Other objects/ and advantages ofy my invention will be' apparentfro'm astudy of the following specifications read in connection with. the accompanyingdrawing wherein Fig. 1` is aside elevational Viewv of a sh lure constructed in accordancewith my invention and illustrating. the position. of` the hook member in its extended position relative vto the artificial bait or body member;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinalsectional view through the lure. shown in. Fig.. 11; illustrating theV position or theV hook member. in its retracted'position;

2`. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view takenalong line III- III ofFig. 2; `and y l Fig. 4` is a longitudinal sectional viewvsimilar to Fig. 1 and illustrating the positions 'ofy the hook Y member and. body member when the lure is bitten between the jaws of an attacking fish. s

Referring to the drawing, I have illustrated my fish lure as comprising a body member I which is preferably formed'asan elongated` mein-v ber generally simulating the appearance of a smalllish. The particular'shape illustrated herein is that of a substantially cylindrical body Or plug, from the forward ,end of which extends, a longitudinal bore 2 t'3omniur`iicati1g-,With.2`i.ft;ral`t1sv verse slot 3 extending the remaining Iengthofthe body member l'.

The hook member indicated generally at14l is preferably formed with a pair ofA rearwardly eX- tendingar-ms 5 and S'inter'co'nnect'ed atthei. forward ends as indicatedat 1 by a suiiiciently, resilient connection as will normally urge the. arms 5. and 6. laterally apart. In the form illustrated herein, the hook member 4I is constructed as a single piece of spring wire bent back-l atV itsmida pointto form the interconnection l, the hook member being inthe generalzshape. of aV initsM extended position in which the apex of the V comprises a loop by which the hook` members may be secured` to the endl of a line while theends` of the4 arms of the V` may be bentforwardly to form hooks 8 and; 9. I

The resilience of thevlooped or V-shapedhookmember is such as tonormally urge the-arms 5fv andr` 6 divergently apart to dispose the hooked ends thereof a substantial distance apart while the forwardv ends of the: arms are located'lsuili.- ciently close to eachother as toV permit. the pas` sage of the loop endk 1 through thebore 2 of the body or bait` member I preferably projecting a suiiicient distance beyond the forward endof the body member l to permit the ready connection of a line thereto. y l

The hookv member 4is therefore mounted in the body- I for longitudinal movement relative to the body, the spreadof the legs 5 and 6 at the reanwardendof the` bore 2` being such that when-the loop end 1 is drawn forwardly with respect tothebody or bait l, diametrically opposite sides'of thel bore 2 will compress the arms 5 and 6 towardeach other, moving the hook ends 8 and 9 toward each other toV dispose the hooks relatively close together.

I prefer that the, extent of the movement, ofl the arms 5 and 6 toward each other will. be such that the hooks will bey substantially disposed lth'e hook member 4 to move Verally apart while within the mouth of the attackwithin the recess formed by the slot 3 in the bait member l in such fashion as to substantially 1 f Aaioaaoa shield the hook ends when'the hook member isY in its retracted position as shown in Fig. 2. As thus far described, it will be apparent that Y by sliding the body, I rearwardly with respect to the loop end 1 of the hook member 4, or by pulling the hook member 4 forwardly with respect the arms and 6 willY be drawn hook-shielded positions and the line while the lure to thebody I,

to their Yretracted'or the effect of pulling upon Vis inthe water will be to 4 in its retracted position.

I prefer to provide from the sides of the bait member I a sufficient distance tobe engaged by the mouth of an attacking fish, with the result that-the striking `of the fins by the fish will tend to move the bait `member I forwardly of the hook member 4. This `forward movement will allow the resilience of the arms 5 and s lat- ;ing fish and thus securelysetthe hooks. y l" To insure that the bait'mer'nber will move forwardly' a suicient distance to permit the maxi'- mum spread of the arms 5 and E, I form the portions Iljand I2 `tact surfaces to theV body Yat the rear end of the bore 2 extending at an angle to thev rear edge'of thebore 2, such that spreading movement of the `portions II and I2 will produce, a resultant for- 1 ward thrust on the body I to permit still further spreading movement.

` Thus as'long as the bait is not attacked and a. forward strain is placed upon the'loop 1.,*the hooks. will remain in Vtheir retracted position but 8 and 9 from their conpositions.

Since it frequently occurs that an attacking fish may close its mouth only upon the rear end `fof the bait member I and may not engage the fins I0, I V prefer to provide hook member'II which will cause the arms Sjand 6 to be moved apart upon such biting.

a trigger action for the This may be readily accomplished by forming one of the arms,l such asy the arm 6, of such shape that at least`a portion thereof will extend below the body I when the hook member is in its retracted position, as is illustrated particularly Vin hold the hook member l to normally extend at a substanl Vtiallywide angle Yto each-other, presenting conto thus dispose the surface of the portion I5 on upon the body I a pair of laterally extending fins IIJ which extend laterally f any releaseof such strain will result in the projecting of the hooks tracted or Vconcealed positions to` their extendedA Y apart.

the arm II at an angle relative to the surface of y the bore 2.

4 now will exert forces on the rear edge of the The resilience of the hook member bore 2, tending to move the bait I forwardly along i the vhook member until the bend I5 has been completely removed from the bore'2, the angular relation of the portions I I and I2 of the'hook member thereafter causing the further forward movement of the baitI as hereinbefore described, resulting in -the spreading of the hooks 8 and`9 'through thebody I so that it crosses the slot at the desired rearward position and at the desired height in the slot 3.

I prefer to use two iinsdisposed on the. lower side ofthe body and extending parallel to veach other at opposite sides of the slot 3, such arrange- .30 Yment tending to make the bait'float'with'the a slot 3 extending vertically rather than sidewise. Also the shape of the edges of the finsV I0 disposed forwardly of the body I may be curved or otherwiseshaped to present an edge whichwill readily slide over the obstructions or sea weed through which the baitlmay Vbe dragged, thus makingthe bait substantially weedless Also, as will be observed from an inspection of Fig. 2, the arm 5 is disposed below that portion of the hook 9 which may extend'out ofthe body of the bait to' present a surface tending'to prevent any obstruction or seaweed from becoming engaged by the exposed end of thev hook 9.

The construction of my lure makesit readily disengageable from the mouth of the fish after the same has lbeen landed, it being merely necessary Atxograsp the loop 1 and then slide the bait body'I rearwardly, moving the Vhooksto their contracted position, the tapered rearend I8.of the body I acting to separate the hooks from the tissues in which they may be embedded.

While the body member I may be formed'oi anysuitable material, I prefer to form the same Fig'. 2, and by forming a bend I5 in the arms 5 1 and 6 vimmediately forwardly of the portions II 1 and I2 thereof, the amount ofthe bend being Y such that when the hook member 4 is in its forward position, as shown 'in Fig. 2, the bent porl tionsr I5'wil1 lie substantially parallel to each other and present surfaces engaging walls of the bore 2 substantially parallel with the longitudinal extent of these walls. Also a stop or pin vI6 is provided extending laterally Vof the the interior slot 3 vimmediately to the rear of the rear endof the bore 2 to be engaged by the portions of the arms 5 and 6 just rearwardly of the bent portions I5,4the position of the pin I6 and its abutment with the arms 5 and 6 being such as to hold the parallel `portions I5 only Vpartially within the bore 2.

'-Thus ifa fish bites upon the rear end of the bait I, the biting action will move the arm 5'upwardly a slight distance such as to the position shown in Fig. 4, causing the bend'I5 of this arm to` be fulcrumed about the rear edge of the borel 2 toisubstantially straighten out the bend I5 and of woodin which case it i's'desirable to line the interior of the bore 2 with some material'which will provide a relatively hard smooth surface tov the portions of thejarms 5'and 6 which' are to be drawn into'or retracted from the bore 2. One form of lining is illustrated in Fig. 3 as providing a, coating of acetate or similar plastic paint 20 which will harden into'a hard smooth film. In fact, I find it advantageous to dip or coat the entire body with such material, not only Ias a means of providing the desired lining for theibore 2 but also to lend strength .to the body and to provide` a preservative coating thereon; as indi-v cated at I9.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, I donot desireto be limited to any of thedetails of construction shown -and described hereinexcept as defined in the appended claims. J

I claim:

a fish lure,-.abody member having'arestr1ctedlongitudinal passage'extending from; one

end thereof and into communication with a 1ongreased resilient materialto normally urge thei freeiends` off said 'armsaway'fromV each` othencsaidizhookmember beingzzmounted inv saidbody for.' longituel dinalmovement relative'.theretoby disposing the connectedA ends of saidarn'is'. through said passage and beyond.tlreaforward'zen'd of saidbodywhereby movement of said` arms*l forwardly relativeto the body'and into saidpassa'ge willfcontracttthe arms towardfeach'.v other and finto.4 sarda recess; and a hoolronatileast: one of said arms` 2. In a fish lure, a hook member comprising a 'paii` offarmsfint'erconnected at one of their ends, at least a portion of said hook member being formed of resilient material to normally urge the free ends of said arms away from each other, a body member, means mounting said hook member on said body member including a longitudinal recess extending from one side of said body member to receive said arms, a restricted longitudinal passage through the forward end of said body member communicating with said recess and through which said joined ends of said arms may pass to project out of the forward end of said body member, the width of said passage being less than the normal spread of the free ends of said arms whereby forward' movement of said diverging arms into said passage will contract the arms toward each other and into said recess, and a hook on at least one of said arms.

3. In a ish lure, a hook member comprising a length of spring wire bent back upon itself into a substantial V-shape, defining a loop at the apex of the V and a pair of diverging arms normally held in divergent positions by the resilience of said spring wire, a body member, means mounting said hook member in said body member including a longitudinal recess extending from one side of said body member to receive said arms, a restricted longitudinal passage through the forward end of said body member communicating with the recess and through which the apex of the V may pass, whereby movement of said hook member forwardly relative to said body member will contract the diverging arms toward each other and into said recess, and a hook on at least one of said arms.

4. In a fish lure, a hook member comprising a length of spring wire bent back upon itself into a substantial V-shape, defining a loop at the apex of the V -and a pair of diverging arms normally held in divergent positions by the resilience of said spring wire, a portion of said arms immediately adjacent the apex of the V extending parallel to each other for a predetermined distance, a body member, means mounting said hook member on said body member including a longitudinal recess extending from one side of said bodyV member to receive said arms, a restricted longitudinal passage through the forward end of said body member communicating with said recess and through which the loop and parallel portions of the arms may pass to project the loop out of the forward end of said body member, the width of said passage being less than the normal spread of the free ends of said arms, whereby movement of said hook member forwardly of said body member will cause the diverging arms to engage the sides of said passage 'and contract the arms toward each other and kinto said recess,

:india-hook` on. the freeend or at least-one of saidarmsi l i Y Y *5.2 Infa-'slnlure; a liookl member` comprising :a

Y iengtn of spring Wirebe'nt'rbackuponitself into` asubstantiall` v-shape; defining a loop attneapex ortrn'ewll anda; pair of diverging armsnormaily f held in divergent' positionsv by the resilience of said-spring wire, a'l portion of' said:l arms immediatelyIV adjacent' the apex` of thev V- extending paralleli tor eachother -for a` predeterminedr dise tance; a body member, means mounting said hook member on said body member includinga longitudinal recess-extending from'y one side of" said body member toreceive said armaa restricted longitudinal passage' through the forwardv end-ofi said body member communicatiiig-A with4 Vsaid ree cess and having a pair of parallel sides and through which the loop and parallel portions of the arms may pass to project the loop out of the forward' end of said body member, the width ofr said passage being less than the normal spread of the free ends of said arms, whereby movement of said hook member forwardly of said body member will cause the diverging arms to engage the sides of said Ypassage and contract the arms towardv each other and into said recess, each of said arms being bent toward the other for a short distance along the length of the arm forming an angle between said arms which when said bent portion is drawn intosaid passage presents surfaces on said contracted arms parallel to the sides of said passage, abutment means on said body engageable by said hook member to limit the movement of said'bent portions into said passage for a distance less than the length of said bent portions, whereby compression of said arms further toward each other will dispose the bent portion of at least one of said arms in nonparallel relation t0 the side of said passage to cause the resilience of said spring wire to urge said arms apart to exert a forward movement on the body member and a consequent spreading of the free ends of said arms, and a hook on at least one of said arms. Y

6. In a sh lure, a hook member comprising a length of spring wire bent back upon itself into a substantial V-shape, defining a loop at the apex of the V and a pair of diverging arms normally held in divergent positions by the resilience of said spring wire, a portion of said arms immediately adjacent the apex of the V extending parallel to each other for a predetermined distance, a

body member, means mounting said hook member on said body member including a longitudinalrecess extending from one side of said body member to receive said arms, a restricted longitudinal passage through the forward end of said body member communicating with said recess and through which the loop and parallel portions of the arms may pass to project the loop out of the forward end of said body member, the Width of said passage being less than the normal spread of the free ends of said arms, whereby movement of said hook member forwardlyof said body member will cause the diverging arms to engage each other and move into said recess, a hook member on the free end of at least one of said arms, and

a fin extending laterally of said body adjacent the y said hook member to allow said arms to spread apart.

'7. In a fish lure, a hook member comprising a length of spring wire bent back upon itself into a substantial V ,-shape, defining a loop at theapex Vof the V and a pair of diverging armsznormjally Vheld indivergent positions by the reslen'of said spring wire, arportion orsaidv arms. lflme*V Y diately adjacent the apex ofthe V-extendingrpar- 1 allelptoi'each other for avpredetermined distance, agbody member, means mounting said hookfmember on said body member including-a longitudinal recess extending from one side of said body member to receive said arms,va restricted longitudinal passage rthrough they forward end of ,said body member Ycommunicating with said recess and through which the loop andparallel portionsof the arms may pass to project the loop out of the forward end of said body member, the width of Vsaid passage being less than the' normal spread of the free ends of said arms, Iwhereby movement 'of said, hook member forwardly of said body member .willcausef the diverging arms to engage the sidesofa-,said passage and contract;` the farms to- 1Wardeacn` othenand into said-recess, ahook Y member lonthefree end of at leastrone ofsaid arms, and afin extending laterally of saidbody adjacent the forward Y end .thereof to, form an abutmentagainst which themouthrof'an attacking sh'will strike to urge said bodyl member forn wardly vrelative to said-hook member'to allow said arms tospread apart-said fm having its forward edge converging toward the exterior surface of said body to guide saidV body over obstructions. 

